Two champions of Amazon Rainforest conservation have been awarded the inaugural Thomas E. Lovejoy Prize at the United Nations biodiversity summit, COP16, currently underway in Cali, Colombia.
The cash prize of $100,000 each was awarded Oct. 29 to agronomy and forest engineer Marc Dourojeanni from Peru and Indigenous advocate Belén Páez from Ecuador.
The prize is in honor of renowned ecologist Thomas Lovejoy, dubbed “the father of biodiversity.” Both award winners received a framed plaque with a distinctive bow tie under glass, a favorite accessory of the late Lovejoy’s when he wasn’t wearing muddy field clothes during his decades of Amazon research.
Dourojeanni won the award for his 50 years of work creating Peru’s protected area system, including the iconic Manu National Park. He has been a mentor to two generations of conservationists in the region and has served in leadership roles with the University San Martín de Porres, ProNaturaleza, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the World Commission on Protected Areas, and the Inter-American Development Bank.
“Life is only worthwhile and interesting if it is about fighting for something more than just yourself,” Dourojeanni said in his acceptance speech. “It is only worthwhile if you feel useful and… what better than helping the Amazon?”
Co-winner Belén Páez has focused on climate change and post-extractive industry transitions across Ecuador and Peru, contributing to victories for the protection of forests and Indigenous territorial rights in the Ecuadorian Amazon. As the general secretary of the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative, she led systemic transitions that echoed across the Andean Amazon. At the Pachamama Foundation, she has implemented innovative and effective programs to promote the rights and livelihoods of Indigenous peoples.
“It is important to live with purpose and commitment. For me, that purpose is the Amazon, and the people who have protected it for generations,” Páez said. “In these forests there is a wisdom that we must not only listen to, but also follow.”
Lovejoy, who died in 2021, was widely credited with coining the term “biodiversity.” A global expert on the subject, he was a passionate champion for the conservation of the Amazon Rainforest. He brought together science, advocacy and a spirit of collaboration as he served on some 50 environmental boards over his lifetime.
The prize is intended to inspire a new generation of Amazon conservationists at an urgent time for the region. The $250,000 award comes from donors led by the Bezos Earth Fund.
“Tom Lovejoy thoughtfully brought science, wisdom, and clarity to every discussion which made his voice stand out with heads of state, leaders of financial institutions, and communities alike,” said Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US, who advocated for the prize’s creation. “He taught us all to look at the whole and kept us all hungry for solutions that keep intact the places that we treasure, most particularly the Amazon.”
Banner image: Thomas Lovejoy, photo courtesy of Slodoban Randjelovic/WWF
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